tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post375600818167570007..comments2015-03-03T11:31:41.044-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Peter Duponceau Meets Samuel AdamsJ. L. Bellnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-38251275008443175882007-11-26T11:28:00.000-05:002007-11-26T11:28:00.000-05:00Steuben was the top administrator in the court of ...Steuben was the top administrator in the court of Hohenzollern-Hechingen until early 1777. That spring he contacted a number of courts and armies about a new job. He met with, among others, the American envoys Franklin and Deane, but declined to join their cause because they couldn’t guarantee him enough money. His best prospect appeared to be in Baden. <BR/><BR/>On 13 Aug 1777, an official in Baden wrote to the prince of Hechingen: “It has come to me from different sources that M. de Steuben is accused of having taken familiarities with young boys which the laws forbid and punish severely. I have even been informed that that is the reason why M. de Steuben was obliged to leave Hechingen and that the clergy of your country intend to prosecute him by law as soon as he may establish himself anywhere.”<BR/><BR/>Within a week, Steuben was in Paris, 300 miles away. He quickly sealed a deal with the Americans despite the lack of money. On 10 September he left with his entourage for Marseilles, and on the 26th the baron was sailing for America, never to return to Europe. <BR/><BR/>Some historians have insisted that those accusations must be false, but I think their arguments are circular, poorly grounded in eighteenth-century history, and motivated by a wish to shield a man they see as a hero. <BR/><BR/>I’m not sure the charges were true, or even whether they’d be considered “charges” in Frederick the Great’s Prussia, where Steuben began his career. But it’s clear that the looming scandal was a factor in Steuben’s decisions to leave Hechingen and then to leave Europe. <BR/><BR/>Naturally, I plan to gossip about Steuben more at some point.J. L. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-26480781270893653222007-11-26T10:58:00.000-05:002007-11-26T10:58:00.000-05:00Von Steuben left Europe due to a sex scandal? :-)...Von Steuben left Europe due to a sex scandal? :-) What did he do? (or fail to do..) I googled this and only found only one thin reference to homosexuality. I'd prefer to think that he was dallying with someone's wife.Ronnoreply@blogger.com